Wagga Open "McDonalds Classic"

[T-Bone]

Just letting you know that the Wagga Wagga Open is coming up in about a month, so it's probably time to start stating your interest. Date is 7-8th June, with entries closing 25th May.

This year the weekend consists of a 116km Graded road race on the saturday, and a Criterium on the Sunday. I'm not sure about the course as it appears to be different to previous years with a new starting point at the Winery.

My current plans are to only race the Saturday, driving down in the morning, and back after the race, mainly because criteriums don't interest me enough, and don't really suit my riding.

If anyone is intersted, let me know.

[T-Bone]

Well, so far i've got Nick B interested as well, so let me know soon if you're interested just in case transport needs to be re-organised.

[Simon Llewellyn]

I'm interested, I've just got to work out if I can do it.

[wallman]

Guys,

As discussed the other night I'm keen to head down there on Friday arvo and head back on Sunday with the Cervelo that I'm going to win in the raffle. I'm happy to drive if need be but the vehicle will depend on how many are travelling at the same time so if you're keen let me know and I'll pencil it in, otherwise I'll gladly snaffle a seat with someone else.

As for accommodation I might be able to get something for myself and one other but 5 of us is going to be a stretch so it might just be easier for us to all get something together.

Matt

[T-Bone]

Well, as i've mentioned, i'll only be going down for the saturday, so no accomodation needed for me, but i'm not sure how transport is going to work out. I should be able to take someone down to Wagga, but won't be able to take them back as i won't be sticking around for sunday.

[Simon Llewellyn]

Me, Matt & Huw are going down Friday coming back Sunday to ride the road race and crit. I've book accom at the mercury motor inn, it's at 2335 Sturt highway wagga, east side, for Friday and Sat nights. I"m not sure if this is close to the racing but think it is?

I'm working Sunday night but I"m sure we'll be back by 9:30pm & the fact is you can never sleep before a night shift, only after...

[T-Bone]

Sounds good!! Nick said he's going down with his brother inlaw, so everyone seems to be sorted for transport/accomodation.

[Huw]

Just wanted to get some idea of when we might leave on Friday (tomorrow)?

I'm currently assuming that I'll be able to do close to a full day of work.

[Simon Llewellyn]

I'm free to go whenever. What time do you expect to finish work at? I think Matt was planning on getting his dad's car so he'll probably be driving? I haven't heard the outcome yet?

Otherwise it'll probly be my car & one of you guys driving because I"m speed restricted on P's.

[Huw]

I figure we need to allow for at least 6 hrs to get there (GoogleMaps estimates travel time for 447 km as 5 hrs 38 mins, and we're gonna wanna eat somewhere, at least once).

What time do we need to be in Wagga? I'm also free to leave work whenever, but would like to do a reasonably solid day.

[Simon Llewellyn]

Do you want me to ring the accomodation & find out?

[Huw]

Yeah, that could be a good idea - thanks!

Let me know and we can calculate leaving times.

P.S. I feel like I can only have lost fitness and put on weight over the last week. I haven't ridden since the crit last Sat. Has anyone else managed to do any riding this week?

[Simon Llewellyn]

He said he likes to lock up at about 9:30pm, sometimes 10pm but generally 9:30pm. If we are going to be later than that we can ring before 8:30pm and make other arrangements to get the key.

So we would have to leave quite early...

Brad murderred me Monday night on rollers. I've pretty much been sick since, but am pretty fit after the weekend's racing, just have to get rid of the cough. I"m thinking about rollers tonight with Lindsay...

[Huw]

9:30?!? That seems early.

I guess we'll have to try and get there for then (9:30). If we accept the GoogleMaps estimate (5h 38min), and add a bit extra for a quick stop here or there (50 min), we have a total travel time of 6:30. Which means leave Sydney at 3.

OK, I guess we leave here at 3 pm tomorrow.

I'm not sure of the people/car arrangements. I gather there will be 2 cars (James and Matt, since it seems reasonable that with some creative packing, 3 should be able to make it home in Matt's dad's Falcon). Simon, will you go with James - I'll go with Matt on the way down?

[Simon Llewellyn]

James is going Saturday & I"m not keen to ride before racing so the plan is for me you and Matt to go down tomorrow. It doesn't sound like we'll have too much trouble fitting three bikes in...

[Huw]

OK. I'll call Matt and organise.

James is driving down, racing, then driving home again on Saturday? Craziness!

[Simon Llewellyn]

That's why I roped you two in...

[wallman]

Guys,

Sorry I haven't been in touch. Work has been mad, plus I got just enough training time in on Tuesday to go over in the wet. I'm a bit the worse for wear but am still heading down. Sounds like we'll all be tip-top come Saturday. I'll drive the Falcon. I've taken the day off work and was hoping to get out of Sydney by 1 but can do 3 at the absolute latest. Remember it's a long weekend so everyone will be heading out of town at that time of the arvo. I am a grumpy bastard in traffic so we want to avoid peak hour at all costs.

I'll pick you both up at your respective places if need be. Whereabouts are you at Simon? Also Simon, does our motel room have a fridge by any chance?

Cheers,
Matt

[Simon Llewellyn]

It should have a fridge, they normally do with the complementary soft drinks that they charge you for if you drink.

Hey i"ve got the day off too, so I can leave at what ever time suites. It would be good if I could get picked up from my house. But can probably get to you if need be. I'll private message you my address & ph no.. You could pick me up first and then Huw so we leave earliest possible.

Cheers for driving!!

[Huw]

Hi guys!

Sorry, I started looking at new handlebars online, and . . . well, that's a fine way to kiss half an hour goodbye.

I'll work from home tomorrow, which means I'm now open to leaving sooner if that helps.

[Huw]

Yep, we're headed out of this grey slushpit for SUNNY WAGGA!

Forecast for Saturday
Fine. Light southwest to southeast winds.

Wagga Wagga : Fine. Min: 6 Max: 17
Albury : Fine. Min: 5 Max: 17

Forecast for Sunday
Fine. East to southeast winds.

Wagga Wagga : Fine. Min: 4 Max: 18
Albury : Fine. Min: 2 Max: 17

[Simon Llewellyn]

All looks good except for the 4 degree minimum...

[T-Bone]

whereis gives a travel time of 4hr42min from my house, so i'm not sure where you got the extra 1hr. My plan is to leave at about 5:30am saturday with the aim of arriving before 11am. So i'm budgeting 1hr less than you. I'm sure you'll beat your time estimates.

Huw, i'm finally going to order my new frame just after my exams in a few weeks, i'll contact the guy and get you a price on some bars.

[Simon Llewellyn]

Race report.

Today proved to be a very difficult day out on the bike. When we headed out of the Sydeny yesterday the raindrops were threating to prove a miserable weekend however blue skies and sunshine awaited us in Wagga. Today the temperaterature wasn't too bad. A little brisk with the wind but otherwise pretty warm.

Ive been suffering from the flu all week and was hoping to recover for this morning but it just wasn't to be, I got dropped on the first climb barely 1km outside of the start. I was a bit disappointed after I tagged onto Huw's bunch coming from behind that he wasn't feeling much better and we were soon both off the back of his bunch too and riding by ourselved. The first few kms were difficult with some really decent climbs and not too favourable wind. People were being dropped left right and centre. Matt and James up the road who started in the bunch in front of me were having a lot more success than us and were able to hang on and James even powered over the main climb of the day, heading his bunch.

Back to the back of the race and we watched bunched by bunch go past getting some help for a km or two before hitting another hard climb and being dropped. The best of it was probably with two nsw-is riders who had been dropped from scratch as it split in half. I was looking to throw in the towel at the first possible moment, just not looking to ride at all and hurting alot at low paces. At one point we became tourists and picked up a tourist map because I was egging Huw on to find us a short cut home even though he was keen to ride out the distance. Meanwhile back to the front of the race and Matt dropped his chain and as a result lost his bunch. To his frustration he lost the race with a mechanical. He then got a lift with chopping block for about 15kms and re met up with James who was then dropped and then Matt was dropped but was put in a position to be first DHBC rider home. James came in about 20 minutes behind and me & Huw got a lift in the sag waggon which I convinced Huw was the best decision for my health.

I know your going to say Simon, Nick? what about Nick? Well the answer is I don't really know what happened to Nick? ME & Huw passed him on the roadwithin about 15kms and didn't see him again. We assume he must have turned around and gone home because we were almost last on the road when we got picked up.

Tomorrow is a criterium and we are very much looking forward to it. Huw has scored C grade whilst me & Matt are D. I'm hoping for a change in health overnight or I may be relegated to the sideline but we'll see!!!

[Huw]

A beautiful day down here in Wagga - a slight breeze from the southwest, but sunny and clear skies making for what would appear to be an ideal day for a Winter road race.

I was handicapped into bunch 5 of 9, leaving 23 mins behind limit, in the same group as Phil Scheidegger from North Sydney. I was riding with my new wheels, and had big hopes for them and for finishing with the bunch. We set off at a pace which intensified quickly after the bunch organised into turns. Everyone was working strongly as we hit the first of what would be a large number of rolling hills. The pace stayed high, and I found myself working hard to maintain the paceline up and over the hills.

Right now, Matt, Simon and me are sitting in hotel room, feeling tired and watching a Bruce Willis movie on tele. Now, we actually can't agree on where it happened, but consulting the map, it was probably about 15 km into the race. I saw Simon up ahead, and for a brief moment, I actually thought he'd left his bunch to come back and hang out with us. I was wrong. He stayed with us for a few kilometers, over which time we'd worked our way into some troubling hills, where I found myself well into the red zone, and was dropped. Now what happened next seems strange to me now. I was hurting a lot, and just couldn't see myself sticking at that pace for the other 90% of the race. I watched as the bunch left me behind, a gap of four metres, then five, six, seven, ten. I just let them go. It was not my proudest moment, but I just wasn't up for it, mentally or physically.

Well, that was the end of my race. I found Simon also languishing out in the wilderness, and we rode on together. We latched onto the bunch behind (Benny Elliot) for a few km, but then hit the steepest hill of the day, and left them to it. We found Nick Bregolin at the top, 30 km into the race, and continued on at our own speed.

Like Simon says, we became tourists, and carried along in the sunshine at our own pace. As Simon went on, his hacking cough seemed to get worse, and he was having trouble keeping up just with the 24 km/h we were doing. After a while of this, the sag wagon showed up, and we were both happy to jump in.

The sag wagon took a while to get home, and I only saw James briefly before he and Stretch left again - not long enough to catch up on his race. Phil ended up with a top ten. I haven't seen Nick. Matt has the biggest right to smile in the motel room tonight after a good ride which ended unfortunately following a dropped chain at km 70, just before Junee.

It was a tough day today; much more hilly than I thought it would be. It's been two weeks since Dinnerville, and I've only ridden once (Heffron C-grade last Sat), which may explain some loss of fitness. I've got better hopes for tomorrows' crit - a flat 1.7 km circuit at the Western end of town, around a large botanical park.

Oh, and the wheels didn't let me down!

[Stretch]

Oh, and the wheels didn't let me down!

and they haven't finished judging Elvis at Parkes yet lol

[T-Bone]

I'll add my little bit for saturdays race.

I started in bunch 7 with Matt (never actually checked what the time gaps were). The bunch seemed to maintain a fairly easy pace in my eyes, and i was never put under too much stress, even on the steepest climb i remained relaxed as i casually rode away with 2 others before freewheeling down the other side to regroup. So at this point i was in good spirits.

I can't remember exactly how far we had gone before we were caught, but that began a change in my comfort. The bunch which caught us was charging along a lot faster than we were, with speeds above 50km/hr for a fair while. I initially decided to work in the pace line, as it was a bit disorganised at the back of the bunch early on, with riders getting dropped. All the work began to take it's toll, especially with the wind that seemed to keep moving. So, eventually i dropped back to the back of the bunch in order to try and recover some energy. The back of the bunch wasn't too much better, and my legs began hurting, and soon there were signs that cramps were coming. On one of the last long climbs before Junee, my legs finally gave up only a few hundred metres from the top, and that was the end of it.

The next bunch to pass me (containing Phil), came by in Junee, but i could only latch on for 5sec due to the high speeds. Shortly after the reamaing bunches past me one after the other. Next was Matt and we rode together for a short distance before a small group came by which Matt latched onto, while i held back to prevent the cramps taking hold. I was soon joined by another rider who gave me some company for the majority of the last 30-40km until the finish.

Distance ended up being 125km by my computer, and with the fastest time of 2hr38min, it definitely wasn't a slow race for some. Phil ended up with 8th place. On the whole it was an enjoyable race, and wi believe it was well worth the drive there and back, even on the same day.

[mikesbytes]

47.5kph average

[wallman]

Yeah it was pretty quick. As James said there wasn't really any shelter in the front group through the middle of the race and we were really motoring. It didn't help that I dropped my chain but by 70km I'd been working the whole way and was starting to feel it.

The crit today was pretty good fun. It was a fairly fast circuit through the middle of Wagga Wagga. Nick went around in E, Simon and I in D and Huw flew the flag in C. We had high hopes in D but Simon was too crook to deliver and I finished maybe a bike length out of the money in the sprint. Huw rode well in C but the race was won in the first couple of laps with a 3-man breakaway featuring Phil from Northern Sydney who went on to win it.

Matt

[Simon Llewellyn]

47.5kph average

???? that is very quick? especially considering the terrain & the fact that the scratch bunch split. Sounds just abit too fast. The scratchies were mainly being driven by Drapac Porche & I think the VIC-IS boys were in there, the rest got Dropped. Luke Davison won with a devastating sprint, he used to train with us down at the track & came down the other week. Very quick bike rider & has developed dramatically over the last year or so. But that averaged speed is just too quick?

44kms over 116kms is much more likely but still very fast...

[Huw]

Instead of a C-grade race report for today's Wagga crit (Phil and two Canberra riders broke from the bunch in lap two, and despite some chaotic charges, the main bunch never co-ordinated enough to reel them back), I'd like to add a brief photo-journal.

Sure, cyclists can be glamourous, look hot, and become filthy rich, but life on the road sans podium is just a bunch of hard graft; riding your legs off day in and day out for no reward, every night another lumpy bed and loved ones far away. This is a document of the slog, graft and hardship that is the life of an outclassed opens rider.


Petrol's expensive; when you're a self-sponsored rider, you befriend the guy with access to the biggest car, and jam in as many people and bikes as you can. Here's the back of Matt's dad's station wagon with three bikes (covered by blankets) and four sets of wheels. Thanks Matt's dad!



Another night at the office, Simon fits in some time to work on his essay before bed on Friday night.



Another night, another set of itchy blankets that smell like other people's skin disorders. "But at least these ones are warm", gushes Matt as he snuggles in to get some shut-eye before another day in the saddle.



Sure, the pros ride some hot machines, but what would they know about cost? Here's our stable of affordable, road-worthy beasts waiting for the hammering we'll deliver over the next two days. Matt's Bianchi has only just healed up after a crash in the wet on Tuesday.



The morning of the race, and Simon shows us how it's done with a pre-prepared bowl of cornflakes. Every semi-pro knows that it's important to take a few creature comforts from home on the road. Also, how important it can be to streamline your routine to shave valuable seconds (and effort) before smashing the competition on race day. Here, Simon's brought his favourite horse-trough pre-filled with cornflakes and a spoon, and hermetically sealed with plastic wrap. Just pull it out of your backpack, and voila, that's race-day brekky sorted! No fussing with hard-to-pour boxed cornflakes for this seasoned campaigner!!



The mark of a great sponsor is one who understands the needs of those on the other end of sponsorship. McDonalds worked hard to beat even Simon's efforts towards speed and convenience by offering us not an apple, but washed and sliced apple pieces, plastic-bagged for ease of consupmtion! Yep, there's even preservatives in there to stop it from going off! Top work, Maccas! You really showed the environment who's boss with this one!



End of day one's road race. You may think that this picture captures Simon reduced to an exhaustion-induced mania by the hard seconds spent working with the bunch. But you'd be wrong. He's trying to tie a knot in a jelly snake using his tongue alone!



The self-funded semi-pro has no access to a masseur, a soigneur, or any other French people. He must do whatever he might to work tired muscles into recovery for the next day's campaign. Here, Simon does air-sprints to work the lactic out of his legs for tomorrow's crit. Go, Simon, go!


This is but a short chapter in the up-and-down life of a hardworking opens cyclist. Come along to the next one and join in with your clubmates to help keep the dream alive!!

[Simon Llewellyn]

Gees Huw you make it look like I"m the only one with quirky habits!!! But I guess it depends on who's photos you look at...



But hey that's a fantastic report! It makes me laugh just looking at the photos. We had a fantastic weekend despite the lack of kms I did and our lack of success. Thanks boys it was a great weekend out!!!

[T-Bone]

Just checked the wagga website, and they have a mapmyride map of the course which confirms it's 116km. http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/australia ... /274316676

So, i guess my bike computer has been decalibrated at some point. I'll have to look into it a bit more. You can also look at the nice hills on mapmyride.

[mikesbytes]

???? that is very quick? especially considering the terrain & the fact that the scratch bunch split. Sounds just abit too fast. The scratchies were mainly being driven by Drapac Porche & I think the VIC-IS boys were in there, the rest got Dropped. Luke Davison won with a devastating sprint, he used to train with us down at the track & came down the other week. Very quick bike rider & has developed dramatically over the last year or so. But that averaged speed is just too quick?

44kms over 116kms is much more likely but still very fast...

Maths done on 125k. 44km/h over 116k sounds a lot more realistic.